An Italian sports body penalized Juventus Football Club SpA, one of Europe’s best-known soccer teams, by pushing it down in the standings — a move that will likely cause it to miss the Champions League tournament.
(Bloomberg) — An Italian sports body penalized Juventus Football Club SpA, one of Europe’s best-known soccer teams, by pushing it down in the standings — a move that will likely cause it to miss the Champions League tournament.
The federal appeals court of the FIGC, Italy’s football federation, gave Juventus a 10-point reduction in its Serie A ranking this season, according to a statement. Judges are looking into whether Juventus managers issued false communications to investors and faked invoices for transactions that never took place.
The punishment means Juventus falls to seventh place in the standings from second place — and will probably miss the opportunity to play in European tournaments such as the Champions League. Serie A’s top four finishers gain entry the following year into the Champions League, an annual competition amid Europe’s top teams.
While the team was penalized, several Juventus managers, including Pavel Nedved, a former player and deputy chairman, were acquitted, the FIGC said.
Serie A is Italy’s top soccer league. In April, another sports body canceled an earlier ruling to dock the team 15 points during the current season of Italy’s Serie A league.
Read More: Juventus Gains After Point Docking Reversed Pending a New Trial
Juventus acknowledged the ruling on Monday and said it’s considering an appeal, the soccer team said in a posting on Twitter.
An initial trial in the case, following investigations into alleged false accounting and market manipulation, began in March.
Juventus has been owned since 1923 by Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family, which founded automaker Fiat nearly 125 years ago and manages most of its properties through its Exor NV holding company. The family also controls Ferrari NV, CNH Industrial NV and media publisher the Economist Group Ltd, and is the largest single investor in Stellantis NV.
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